The Trails of Reynolda Gardens

The Trails of Reynolda Gardens by Amy Dixon

Visitors come to Reynolda Gardens for a variety of reasons. Some visitors come to visit the formal gardens, which offer intricate areas of seasonal bloom, creative vegetable plantings and endless inspiration. Some come to simply find a place of pause amid their hectic day-today. And others come to enjoy the trails that wind throughout the historic grounds.

The trails at Reynolda have long been a draw for walkers, runners, dog walkers and bird watchers. The two miles of trails wind through the wetlands, forest and meadow that envelope the estate, and include several spurs for different routes. There’s a couple of new things happening within our network of trails, which we hope will make the visitor experience even better.

Extreme weather and regular foot traffic have caused erosion on many sections of Reynolda’s trails, especially the southeastern section that runs toward Coliseum Drive. Extremely rutted out from several seasons of heavy rain events, this section had become a treacherous trail. Thanks to generous gifts from Mr. Olof Röstlund and Dr. Emily Röstlund, the Ecology Wildlife Foundation Fund, and Nancy and Rich Keshian, this popular foot path has gotten a makeover.

In early January work started on this trail to remove old timbers, clear underbrush, re-grade, and re-route certain portions of the path. The goal was to ease storm water off the trail by diverting it into the watershed at multiple intervals. Although wet winter weather hampered its progression, the work has proved to be well worth the wait. What was once a tedious walking path, is now a much-improved trail.

Spring and summer are particularly nice seasons to walk the Reynolda trails, as many wildflowers are in bloom and the tree canopy creates cool shade. We’re very thankful for the generous gifts that allow us to make these trails safer and more engaging for the community. This fall, look for the addition of native plants and landscaping along the trails, including deciduous azaleas, sweeps of natural ferns, and other native plantings. This work is made possible through a visionary gift from Nancy Neill Spencer.

EAGLE SCOUT KIOSK

Also new to our trails is a hand-built information kiosk, centrally located at the confluence of the woodland trails. Built by local Eagle Scout Sarina Horner, this kiosk serves as a Reynolda message board, listing upcoming events and announcements. Horner planned, constructed and installed the kiosk in late 2020 as part of her Eagle project.

“Reynolda Gardens has always been such a beautiful, magical place to visit for me,” Horner said. “It was an honor to have the opportunity to build an information kiosk on the trails and, in a small way, become a part of the place I love.”

The Reynolda kiosk is part of a citywide geocaching tour of Eagle scout projects that Horner created, as well. Many Eagle projects blend into the community and aren’t always visible as a service project. Horner’s clever geocaching series links together eighteen Eagle projects within the Winston-Salem community. A portion of the series guides participants along a six mile historical hiking loop through downtown and Old Salem. Her series can be found under username eaglescout729 on geocaching.com.